


nobody sings on empty

by academic_orpheus



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: 1930s, Alternate Universe, Everyone is mortal, F/M, Great Depression, post-prohibition
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23480314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/academic_orpheus/pseuds/academic_orpheus
Summary: it’s 1939, and there’s no better place to be than nyc. Hades, the president of one of the largest and wealthiest industrial firms, only gets richer as everyone tries to move on from the Great Depression. Eurydice, his shy, soft-spoken intern, is especially floundering at the moment, but at least she has her lover, Orpheus, a “relative” of Persephone. with Orpheus’ part time job as a bartender at Mr. Hermès’ place—the best jazz bar that side of Broadway—it’s barely enough to keep the two of them afloat.
Relationships: Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown), Hades/Persephone (Hadestown)
Kudos: 19





	nobody sings on empty

There’s a certain level of exhaustion right before the bitter collapse of pure fatigue, where reality can seem a bit marred by the weight of the hours of working and living and one can be led to making rash decisions. And nobody seemed more familiar with that feeling than Mr. Hades, the president of the largest industrial company in the city. Money, money, money. Even through the Depression, Hades stayed comfortable. At least, comfortable in the sense that he had a nice home and other luxuries. 

The lower Manhattan skyline was dull as ever as he turned out the lights in the suite and headed for the elevator, his snakeskin shoes clicking as he walked. Nobody else was in the office, he noticed, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Who would voluntarily work until midnight?

“You sure are late,” Persephone scolded Hades as he set down his briefcase. She was on the sofa, draped in her silk bathrobe with half her hair in rollers.

“You should be in bed,” Hades chuckled, the low rumble of his voice echoing in the large room.

“Don’t get bossy,” she replied, slinking off the couch and waltzing towards the bedroom.

Hades adored his wife to hell and back, but she could be… difficult. He shook his head as he left his shoes and bag by the door, hung up his coat, and followed her.

“In all seriousness, baby, I am worried about you,” Persephone held onto Hades’ hand as he tried to remove his tie. “Too many hours, I never see you anymore.”

“You’re busy, too, moonshine. You got people to see, events to plan, all that. Don’t wanna—let me get my tie, please—don’t wanna get in your way.”

“Oh, please, I’d rather have you in my way than these bozos down at city hall,” Persephone rolled her eyes and took her hands away from Hades’ tie, placing them on his shoulders instead.

Persephone’s job as the mayor’s assistant was just as demanding as Hades’ job. She really did like Athena, or, she used to. They went to school together and all that, but then suddenly Athena was elected mayor and got a complete ego boost. The other people on Athena’s team were even more insufferable. Two total womanizers, who happened to be Persephone’s brothers-in-law. 

At least she didn’t have to deal with Ares, who’d quit after a week and decided to join, of all things, Hades’ company. The less the better, Persephone thought. Truth be told, as social as she liked to be sometimes, she had to be with the right people. 

Her main job was to be social, attend parties, host them even, when the mayor was busy writing her famous speeches or doing other “office things”, as Athena called them. She called them that, to Persephone especially, to imply that nobody else was smart enough to comprehend what exactly she was doing. And since Persephone was the one delivering paperwork and the likes, she was fine with that. She knew regardless.

“You need to sleep,” Hades tried to force Persephone to lay down.

“I’m not sleeping until you do,” she shot back, slipping her thumb under one of the straps of his suspenders.

“You’re impossible.”

Yet Hades undressed and slipped into bed, holding Persephone in his arms.

“I missed you,” he crooned. 

All he got was a soft mhm. And then she was asleep.

The thing about Hades was that he was always up before the sun. Maybe it was because he was determined, maybe it was only to spite Apollo. Either way, he set out in his shiny new car at around five and got to the top office suite just in time to see the sun peek through the window. An hour passed, Hades had gotten acclimated, writing down lists of people to call and papers to sort. “Mr. Hades,” a small voice said after a knock at the door.

“Come in,” he replied, his voice still rough from sleep.

A young woman entered with a cup of coffee on a saucer. New intern, the coffee girl. Some weird name Hades could never remember.

“Thanks, darlin’,” he said dismissively as she set down the saucer.

“Please, just Eurydice.”

“Right,” Hades muttered, flicking his hand towards her, a gesture to show that she wasn’t welcome unless she was bringing him something nice.

Eurydice was a bit down on her luck, stuck cold turkey in the middle of New York during the Great Depression. A little twiggy thing, living from meal to meal with some soulful poet she’d met at an underground bar. 

Now, ordinarily, what’s one poorly-styled musician in New York? But Hades had the misfortune of knowing this boy. His brother-in-law happened to have raised him on his own. Hades had only met the boy once but Persephone sure did like hanging around that bar, the one Hermès kept underground despite prohibition, and opened publicly once it was repealed. But after a few years, business was getting slow.

Anyways, Hades thought nothing more of Orpheus than an idiot with a guitar and a part time bartending job.

Persephone had a vastly different work experience that day. She had three meetings and a dinner party that Hades had promised to attend as her date. As she’d call it, “just a usual workday”. As she stood by the front door in outrageously high heels, as if being 5 foot 7 wasn’t enough. Every time she wore them, Athena would criticize her. So all the more reason to, and with a green dress Persephone had been dying to wear. The sleeves nearly brushed her jaw, they were so poofy. She’d surely be the belle of the ball, or, rather, the dame of the dinner party. Ah, she’d gladly accept either title. And where was Hades? All Persephone knew was that he was not where he should be, walking her to the car and driving to the little penthouse venue they’d set up right by the river.

She took a look at the clock and decided she’d rather show up on time and alone than late and with Hades. As she stood in front of the elevator, tapping her foot as it crept up to the top floor. The door squeaked open and on her way in she almost smacked into none other than Hades himself. “Funny seeing you here,” he chuckled.  
“You’re late,” Persephone growled.  
“That’s okay. Got all the time in the world, sweetheart.”  
“For you, maybe,” Persephone said, rolling her eyes.

What an invigorating party this was. Persephone sat with her diluted wine as Hades talked business with another man in a suit. The party was mostly men in suits, which was an absolute bore. It’s okay, Persephone reassured herself. I can just say it went swimmingly and Athena won’t even question it. Like she even cares about anything I say anymore. Hell, I could say the whole building burned and she’d just nod and shoo me out. 

Persephone was a bit intoxicated now, but sat up straight as a rod when she heard a guitar chord ring through the room. She forgot she’d hired a musician. Grabbing her half-empty third refill, she moseyed her way up to where Orpheus was playing one of his songs. His taste in music was… outdated, to say the least. Persephone knew at events like this, he’d probably be overlooked but felt bad passing him up on a job when she knew how he and Eurydice were struggling. 

How she wanted to give him a big old slice of her wealth, have them both move into the guest room, get them good stable jobs. But Hades wouldn’t let her. 

“They chose that path, darlin’,” he told her once when she brought it up. “And now they gotta walk it.”

Persephone thought that was a load of hogwash.

Still, the passion in Orpheus’ music was enchanting. It was authentic. It was… a   
little less noticeable than usual. He seemed distracted.

A few songs into Orpheus’ little gig, Persephone’s memory got foggy and she started drinking more and more and eventually wound up in the ladies’ room, all cried out. What did she even have to cry about? She was lucky. She was envied. She was loved. She was stumbling out back into the hall and whisked away swiftly by her beloved, who’d been hiding how worried he was until they got home.

“Damn near ruined that reputation of yours, lady,” Hades shook his head as he laid Persephone on the bed, taking off her shoes.

“I love you,” was all she could repeat as she grew drowsier and drowsier.

Hades spent the early hours of the morn keeping an eye on Persephone and her raging hangover. It was rare she got this sick, so Hades watched over her just in case, at least until he had to leave. “Just stay,” Persephone whined, reaching out to Hades at the door.

“Got stuff to do, I’m a busy man, you know that,” he ruffled her hair as he spoke, which she did not like.

“Fine, then.” Her tone changed as she smoothed out her hair.

And Hades left. No kiss, no embrace, not another word. Just him and his big company.

And then Persephone, tired as she was, made the trip down to Hermès’ bar, worn out and in need of some of his age-old wisdom.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Next chapter we’ll see a lot of Orpheus and Eurydice this time as opposed to Hades and Persephone. :)


End file.
